Bunker Tower in Cheaha Mountain State Park, highest point in the state of Alabama Photo courtesy Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel

Cheaha Mountain State Park

The Creek Indians named it Cheaha meaning
"high place" -- an appropriate name, as Cheaha Mountain in
Lineville, Alabama is the highest point in Alabama, at 2,407 feet
above sea level. Cheaha Mountain State Park is one of the oldest in
Alabama, and a jewel of the 24 parks which comprise Alabama's State
Park system. Located 90 miles west of Atlanta in the foothills of
the Appalachians, Cheaha is a 2,799-acre mountaintop retreat. Many
of the structures in the park were constructed by the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC), established in 1933 by President Franklin
Roosevelt. The road to the park, lookout tower, cabins and
caretaker's house were constructed by 200 CCC workers; the rocks
and timber used in their construction were taken from the top of
the mountain. The park officially opened on June 7, 1939, after
nearly six years of construction of its buildings and roads.

Today the park offers a resort inn, swimming pool,
restaurant, vacation cottages, chalets, modern campground, picnic
area and pavilions. Unique plant and rock formations add to the
individuality of the park. Three short hikes can be made in within
a few hours including trails to Bald Rock, Pulpit Rock, and the
Rock Garden. Bald Rock Trail connects with the 10-mile-long Odom
Scout Trail, blazed by Boy Scouts in 1961, and part of the Pinhoti
Trail System. In the spring, azaleas, rhododendron and other
flowers are in bloom all over the mountain. A spring-fed lake or
swimming pool provide summer recreation. In the fall, colors
explode in the area in a spectacular display. More than 279,000
visitors came to Cheaha Mountain State Park in 1998.

The project is documented with four pages of text,
nine color slides and two 4 x 5 black-and-white photographs.

The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.